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Rugby fraternity shocked by Collins’ death

Cape Town - Tributes have flocked in for former All Black loose forward Jerry Collins, who has died in a car crash.

Reports from France suggest Collins, 34, and his wife died in the French region of Herault when their car came to an unexplained stop on the A9 highway, before being hit by a bus.

The couple were travelling with their three-month-old daughter, who survived the accident but is in a serious condition.

He played 48 Tests for the All Blacks between 2001 and 2007, as well as 85 matches for the Hurricanes and 47 for Wellington.

He joined French club Toulon after the 2007 Rugby World Cup and since then represented Welsh club Ospreys (2009-2011) and Japanese club Yamaha Jubilo (2011-2013).

Collins recently signed a contract as a Medical Joker to play in the French ProD2 with Racing Club Narbonne. He was injury cover for Rocky Elsom.

Current and former rugby players expressed their shock at Collins’ untimely passing on social networking site, Twitter on Friday:

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